Bedtime Story
by TL-chan
Summary: Sometimes having to raise a human can be exceptionally difficult. BugueseAqune, in a completely platonic sense for once.


Disclaimer: Spider Riders is not mine.

AN: Figured I'd post this, since I finally bothered to type it up. No, I probably didn't have much sanity at the time I wrote this. Takes place pre-series.

It was just an average night at Mantid's fortress. The day had been particularly quiet, much to Buguese's relief, because he wasn't in the mood to have to deal with any Spider Riders. There was no one cause of his current negative mood. It was just a general irritation. The sun still wasn't restored, they lacked Oracle Keys, and some of his comrades were simply impossible to deal with. On top of all of this, the miserable Spider Riders always ruined everything. Buguese did anticipate bringing about their downfall, but that would have to wait.

He planned to go to bed soon, but there were a few things the Insector needed to check up on beforehand. He had a lot of responsibilities, being in the big four. One such responsibility he put on himself though and he decided to deal with this one first.

Buguese entered the living quarters of the fortress and opened the door to a small room. Inside, on the bed, was Aqune, the child he had found. He wasn't too surprised to see that the girl was awake.

"Buguese?" she questioned.

"Yes, it's me," said Buguese. He wondered how much of his irritation was shown in his voice, but he hoped Aqune would know that it wasn't directed at her. He had a lot of difficulty ever being really mad at her.

"Aqune, it's getting late," he continued. "Tomorrow will probably be a busy day, so you should try and get some sleep."

Aqune looked up at him with a troubled expression. "I know," she said. "But I'm not tired. I need help falling asleep."

Buguese glared at her for a moment, then sighed. "What do you expect I could do about that?" he asked. "Isn't that your own problem?"

"I guess it is," said Aqune. She continued staring at him though, with a concerned but innocent expression.

"No," Buguese said, glaring again. "Tell me. You seem to have something in mind as to how I can assist you in falling asleep."

Aqune nodded apprehensively. She could tell that Buguese was annoyed, and whether or not it was at her, she didn't want to further bother him.

"Can you tell me a story?" she decided to ask.

Buguese was slightly surprised. Aqune had managed to convince him to tell her ridiculous bedtime stories before, but it wasn't as if he saw a point to it and he certainly didn't have any ideas at the moment.

"Please," Aqune added, looking even more innocent.

"Well… fine," stated Buguese. He couldn't say no to her like this, even if she was just a worthless human.

Still, there existed the problem of just what to tell her. He looked around the room for any piece of inspiration, but found none. His only ideas involved venting his anger through the story, by carrying out the bloody end to the Spider Riders, but Aqune was a Rider herself and he didn't want to scare her or make her think he wanted to do the same to her. He looked to see if Aqune was getting impatient, but instead saw that she looked excited and hopeful. He needed to think of something and was left with only one option.

"What kind of story do you want to hear?" he asked.

"Um… I don't know," Aqune stated. "A fairy tale I think. Can you make me a princess?"

"Alright," said Buguese. At least that was a start. But Aqune as a princess? What did they normally do anyway, besides get kidnapped and have to be rescued by a knight? Perhaps Aqune wanted that though, to be rescued from the Insectors by the humans. That gave him an idea, however.

"Once upon a time," he began "There lived a young girl named Aqune who was princess of the grand Nuuma kingdom. She was loved by many for her kindness, human and Insector alike.

However, not everyone shared these opinions on her. There was a terrible human who lived within the kingdom. He wanted to be its ruler, although he would not be as compassionate to his people as Aqune was. He staged an elaborate plan to be rid of her. One night, he gathered a fleet of Insectors who lived nearby and tricked them into helping him, promising them power. With their help, he succeeded in kidnapping Aqune.

Nuuma kingdom was thrown into turmoil because of this human, and all its people suffered. The one who suffered most was princess Aqune herself. She was kept alive, forced to watch her people's lives crumble. She was kept in a small stone room, which was always locked, so she was unable to escape. All the girl was able to do was hope, because she had nobody left to defend her. Many Spider Riders tried to come to her rescue but failed. Not even Spirit Oracle was able to save her.

However, one day all of this changed. There was one particular Insector who was deceived into helping the cruel human in the initial raids. He was furious, seeking revenge on the dictator. But also, he wished to save the young princess. This Insector, both powerful and cunning, tricked the terrible human himself. He offered the human an Oracle Key, in exchange for the Insector's world to receive his mercy. While traveling into his fortress, to deliver the key to the greedy human, he snuck around until he could find Aqune's location. With his powerful sword, he broke through the stone wall."

Buguese paused to see Aqune's reaction. He thought this was coming out fairly well, for something he was making up as he went along. He also thought he expressed his point well enough that humans were worthy of hating. He just wasn't sure how to progress from there.

"What happens next?" Aqune questioned, curiously.

"Well…" said Buguese, "what do you think should happen?"

"I think the Insector and the princess should forgive the human, instead of getting revenge," she replied.

Buguese suspected as much from Aqune. That's why he was reluctant to provide the only ending he had in mind. While he wanted to teach Aqune a lesson, if the Insector killed the human, he was sure the girl wouldn't enjoy the ending.

"I see," he stated. "Alright. Aqune was very worried when she saw the Insector. However, he assured her not to be afraid. He told her the human should be crushed. Aqune protested otherwise. Because she was such a kind girl, she wanted even the evil dictator to be saved. Although the Insector did not understand this logic, he decided to accept it. Keeping Aqune close by, he traveled through the fortress until he located the human. He threatened the human by pinning him into a corner, holding his sword up to the human's throat. The dictator promised to surrender nicely, and go to live a life of peace."

Buguese had trouble taking this at all seriously now. However, he wasn't doing this for himself anymore. "And then princess Aqune restored her kingdom and lived happily ever after," he mumbled. He hoped that his Aqune was happy now. That wasn't at all how he wanted her to seriously deal with her enemies. But yet, he still hadn't found a way to teach the pacifistic Spider Rider otherwise.

Aqune smiled to him. "Thanks," she said. "I think I can fall asleep now. Oh… and would you really save me if something ever happens to me?"

"What?" Buguese questioned.

"The Insector in your story…" Aqune responded. "He was a lot like you."

"It wasn't me. He was just a character, and a foolish one at that," Buguese replied.

"Okay," said Aqune. "But you will protect me, right?"

Buguese smiled at her gently. "Of course I will, my Aqune," he stated. "But you are not in any danger now. Therefore, it's safe for you to go to sleep."

"Alright," she said. She closed her eyes, attempting to do as Buguese said.

Buguese went over and tucked her in. He decided that he'd stay there for awhile, and wait for her to fall asleep. After all, he told her she'd be safe, and who knew what kind of danger could emerge. Not that Buguese honestly saw any imminent trouble, but the heroic Insector from his story would've stayed by his princess's side, wouldn't he?"


End file.
